Quarter-gauging last and process



April 3, 1962 c. F. BATCHELDER EFAL 3,027,578

QUARTER-'GAUGING LAST AND PROCESS Filed March 11, 1960 &

l/rawvza i- ATTOR NEYS United States Patent 3,027,578 QUARTER-GAUGINGLAST AND PROCESS Charles F. Batchelder, Milton, and Jerome A. Ruhico,Boston, Mass, assignors to Batchehler Rubico, Inc.,

Boston, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Mar. 11, 1960, Ser.No. 14,435 1 Claim. (Cl. 12-136) This invention comprises a new andimproved last for use in the manufacture of shoes designed to facilitatemore precise manufacture of more comfortable shoes, with savings of timeand cost in their production and elimination of rejects. The inventionincludes also the novel process of shoemaking advantageously practicedby employing our new last.

Because of the form of the human ankle, it is essential that shoes to becomfortable must be made with the top edges of the uppers lower on theoutside of the ankle than on the inside. This difference in heights,inside and outside, is required to avoid any possibility of the top edgeof the counter portion of the upper chafing against the under side ofthe wearers foot at the ankle bone.

Shoe uppers are normally designed, cut and stitched to conform to thisprinciple, but all too often the designed relationship is lost in oneand sometimes both shoes of a pair in the shoemaking operations ofassembling and lasting. Our invention is directed towards thesimplification of the assembling operation, with positive control of thepositioning of the back or counter portion of the shoe upper during thecritical operations from assembling through side lasting.

In current shoemaking practice the positioning of the heel portion ofthe upper on the last is performed by the assembler. This operative mustrely on his experience, his eye, and his hands to achieve a result thatfrom the nature of the operation cannot be uniform. When the assemblerhas positioned the stitched upper on the last to a heel height correctin his judgment, he drives a shoe nail or tack through the upper at ornear the back seam, and another through the lasting margin of the upperinto the heel end of an insole that has been tacked to the last bottom.These tacks are intended to hold the upper in position at the heel endof the shoe during the subsequent operations and until the upper hasbeen side lasted or inseamed to the insole, when these tacks are pulled.The repeated tacking or nailing through the backseam into the narrowback ridge of the last shortens the useful life of the last. The nailhole through the backseam is also a permanent defect in the finishedshoe.

Our invention provides a means of increasing the precision of shoemakingin the counter or ankle area, by substituting a positive control gaugefor a human judgment. Its use will eliminate the need of nailing throughthe backseam, and will save time and cost, and the risk of shoe damageor personal injury inherent to the projecting nail head during theoperations of pulling-over, side lasting, heel seat nailing, inseamtrimming, etc.

The essential feature of our invention is the provision on the exterioror peripheral surface of the upper part of the heel section of the lastof a projection or shoulder, the overhanging lower edge of whichcontrols the height of the shoe upper in this area. The contour of thisprojecting edge is made to coincide with the designed height of theupper around the counter portion of the shoe. In use, the assemblerinserts the shouldered last into the stitched upper and brings the topedge of the upper into contact with the shoulder. The tapered form ofthe heel portion of the last, with its bulging bottom, keeps the upperfrom dropping down on the last, while the shoulder keeps it from beingforced upward. The contact of the top edge of the shoe upper against theice shoulder provides a positive control and visual indication or checkdetermining that the upper is in its proper position on the last at alltimes during the operations of pulling over the toe of the upper, sidelasting, heelseat nailing, etc. This feature is of especial value to theside laster who has the final responsibility of establishing therelative heights of the upper on the inside and outside of theankle, andof maintaining the reversed uniformity of the left and right shoes ofevery pair.

The shouldered top portion of the heel or counter section of the lastcan be formed as an integral part of the last structure at the time ofits manufacture, or it can be formed by attaching to a last a cap orband of suitable material such as leather, fibre board, plastic or thelike. In any case the underside of the shoulder, or the projecting brimof the cap or band should be established at the designed height of theshoe upper as it varies around the ankle portion. A new or existing lastmay be readily converted to a shouldered last by applying a band orlayer of suitable material around its upper exterior portion. Thisattachment may be made perma nent by nailing, cementing, etc., or it maybe by releasable means such as screws to permit adjustment of the heightat any desired point. If the band is attached by screws or similar meansthrough vertical slotted holes, it may be removed, trimmed, replaced, ormoved upward or downward to adjust to the desired contour of the shoeupper. A projection of one-eighth inch more or less of the shoulder orbrim has been found ample for normal shoemaking.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from the following description of our improved shoemakingprocess and lasts used in practicing it as shown in the accompanyingdrawings in which- FIG. 1 is a view in elevation of a lasted shoe.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional View on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and on alarger scale.

FIGS. 3-6 are fragmentary views in elevation indicating variousmodifications of the last.

The last shown in FIG. 1 is of the conventional divided last type havinga rear or heel section 10 and a forepart 11. The heel section of thelast is provided with an overhanging shoulder 12 projecting outwardlyfrom its smooth peripheral surface near the top of the last and at aheight in conformity to the designed height of the counter portion upperto be lasted thereon. The curvature of the shoulder 12 corresponds tothe top line of the counter portion of the upper 13. It variesheightwise from a maximum at the back seam, sloping somewhat forwardlyand with its overhanging edge lower on the outside of the last asindicated in dotted lines.

In assembling the upper 13 upon the last, the top edge of the upper ispositively gauged by the assembler against the shoulder 12 and thisleaves the lasting margin of the upper as projecting beyond the insole14 which has previously been tacked to the bottom of the last 10. Theupper is now lasted while held positively in the gauged relation to thelast as above explained. In FIG. 2, the lasting margin 15 is shown asextending inwardly over the insole 14 to which it is secured in. theheel seat lasting operation by adhesive or tacks.

In FIG. 1, the shoulder 12 is shown as being carved or turned in thewood of the heel section 12 while in FIGS. 36 we have shown othermechanical means of securing like results. In FIG. 3, there is employeda band 16 of leather or other flexible material which is folded inU-shaped formation and wrapped around the heel section 10 of the last,The band 10 is shown as secured in place by nails 17 and it isunderstood that its lower edge is contoured so that its overhangingsurface 3 fits the top edge of the counter portion of the upper in thesame manner as shown in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 4, the heel section 10* is shown as equipped with a U-shapedband 18 vertically slotted for purposes of adjustment and secured inposition by screws 19.

In FIG. 5, the cone of the heel section 20 of the last is reduced inheight or lowered as compared to that shown in the other figures andsupplemented by a rearwardly tapering block 21 secured by screws 22 tothe top of the heel section. The block 21 is of the proper size toproject outwardly about the smooth perhiphery of the last section 20 andso provide the desired profiled overhanging rib or shoulder for gaugingthe position of the top edge of the upper at the proper height forlasting.

In FIG. 6 the last section 10 is shown as provided with a visual gaugingband 23 formed by printing or coloring the upper portion of the heelsection with a sharply defined design the lower edge of which againcorresponds to the top edge of the counter portion of the upper. Theedge of the design need not be continuous but may be depicted by abroken line and, of course, a series of closely spaced projections wouldbe the equivalent of a continuou gauging shoulder.

In all cases the shoemaking operation is the same in that the top edgeof the quarter of the upper is gauged by accessory means carried by theheel section of the last so that the assembler is relieved of theexercise of judgment and has only to make sure that the top edge of theupper is located in the position indicated or positively determined bythe configuration of the last itself.

Having thus disclosed our invention and described in detail illustrativeprocedure for carrying it out, we claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent:

A divided last having its cone reduced in height from normal and a blocksecured to the lowered top face of the cone overhanging the peripheralwalls of the heel section and thus providing a U-shaped shoulder aroundthe heel section for gauging the position of the top edge of the counterportion of an upper to be lasted thereon References Cited in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,947,246 Brauner et a1. Feb. 13, 19341,985,310 Brauner et al. Dec. 25, 1934 1,991,386 Gerencser Feb. 19, 19352,641,004 Whiting et al.- June 8, 1953

